I've been meaning to post this gyoza (pot sticker) recipe for awhile now and am finally getting around to it. My daughter and I decided to make our own gyoza skins because doing that really elevates this humble dumpling to another level. Unlike books or people, in the case of the gyoza, the outside matters just as much as the inside.
The first time we attempted this, it was a rather warm, humid autumn day, which meant that the skins absorbed the extra moisture in the air, which meant that they stuck together like glue when we stacked them and let them sit for a few hours in the warm kitchen, which meant we had to re-roll the dough to make the wrappers again. Fast forward to winter, when we attempted it again, and this time we had a system, whereby my daughter would roll and I would wrap, leaving no time for the wrappers to sit, although in the dry winter, the stickiness problem was not a factor.
Gyoza Wrappers
Makes about 32 wrappers
21/2 cups (250g) bread flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (150ml) water
Combine flour and salt in a heat proof bowl. Boil water, remove from heat and pour over flour mixture. Mix with fork until the shaggy pieces start sticking together. Add more water,a teaspoon at a time, if necessary so that when pressed together, the shaggy pieces form a ball, then knead for about 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Let rest, covered at least 30 minutes. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece like a rope and cut each rope into 8 pieces. Roll out into a thin circle with a small rolling pin to about 3 mm or 1/8 in. thickness. Dust liberally with flour in between wrappers if stacking and try to use right away. If not, cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.
I usually make a double batch of dough for the filling below. If you have leftover gyoza skins, you could freeze them for another day or julienne them and fry in some vegetable oil for a salad topping.
Gyoza Filling
Should make enough for about 40-50 gyoza
500g (1 pound) ground pork
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sake
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 egg
1/2 round onion, chopped finely
1 bunch garlic chives, chopped finely (about 11/2 cups)
1/4 wedge of a whole cabbage, chopped finely (about 21/2 cups)
Mix above ingredients together well until the the mixture becomes sticky and gooey. You must use your hands to do this part since your hands warm up the pork fat and everything melds.
Fill each gyoza wrapper with about 1-2 tablespoons of filling, depending on the size of your skins, and try not to overfill. If using homemade wrappers, you don't need to wet the edges of the skins. If using store-bought skins, they are a bit drier so you will need to moisten the inside edges of the wrappers with some water before sealing the dumpling. Fold over one half of the skin over the filling into a half moon shape and pleat one side of the wrapper before pinching it to the other side over the filling to seal the dumpling.
Heat up some water in a kettle and set aside. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Pour about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the pan and place gyoza pleated side up in the hot oil and fry until the bottoms are golden brown. Have a lid to the pan ready, and pour about 1 cup of hot water into the frying pan (enough water so that it covers the bottom of the pan) and cover with the lid right away. Let the gyoza steam until all the water has evaporated and you can hear the gyoza sizzling again. Remove the lid and continue to fry making sure all the liquid is gone and the bottoms of the gyoza are crispy. Using a spatula, remove gyoza and flip them over onto a plate, with the pleated sides facing down and the crispy bottom facing up. Add more oil to the pan and continue frying the rest of the gyoza in the same manner.
I like my gyoza with Sriracha chili sauce and shoyu (soy sauce). My daughter likes it simply with just shoyu. Another typical dipping sauce would be a mix of soy sauce and rice vinegar or soy sauce and chili oil (rayu). Mmmm gyoza, good stuff!
